Trump Ready to Spend ‘Buckets of Money’ on Infrastructure: Report

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Get ready for more “infrastructure weeks” ahead in 2019. The Trump administration is preparing to make another push for a $1 trillion infrastructure package, The Wall Street Journal reports (paywall).

A Trump administration plan called for using $200 billion in federal money to encourage some $1.5 trillion in total investments, with the rest of the money coming from state and local governments and private investors. The math behind that plan was problematic, analysts said, and the proposal quickly stalled, with the administration’s repeated “infrastructure week” campaigns to promote it devolving into a joke.

What would be different in 2019?

“This time around, people familiar with the White House’s plans say, the administration’s effort is likely to include a lot more federal cash—which makes it more likely to pass muster with the new Democratic leadership in the House of Representatives,” the Journal’s Ted Mann writes.

Democrats taking over control of the House may be more open to spending on an infrastructure package, and a source told the Journal that Trump “was prepared to spend ‘buckets of money’” on an infrastructure plan as he closes out his first term and prepares for a re-election run.”

As editor in chief, Yuval Rosenberg oversees all aspects of The Fiscal Times' website and email newsletter. His writing has appeared in publications including BusinessWeek, CNBC.com, CNNMoney.com, Fast Company, Fortune, Newsweek, Money and Time.